Date:         Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:16:22 -0400
Reply-To:     Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Subject:      Re: Dragging brakes
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2008062219452534@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Trouble with brakes is not good. Especially not with new parts.
Most of us probably have dragging brakes due to neglected
maintenance. At stops whenever I remember I walk around the bus to
check if any disk/drum is hotter than the others.

Once I had a relatively unworn brake shoe come apart in the
middle of BC. The glue that held the brake material apparently
let go, and it ended up loose in the brake. Amazingly the brake
material didn't decompose in there. As an emergency repair
to go on I was able to glue the brake material back onto the metal
brake shoe with high temp epoxy.

A more common problem is a dragging brake due to dirt or rust
jamming the mechanism. Can easily be cleaned roadside and
brake pads/shoes adjusted to remove the drag.

Martin

Ed <email99@BELLSOUTH.NET> wrote: New parts doesn't necessarily mean undamaged parts.

I purchased a Vanagon rear disc brake kit and it was shipped without enough
padding in an overloaded box.  As a result, during shipping the very heavy
box broke open and parts were lost and damaged.  When I finally got things
replaces and was able to install the kit, the calipers seemed a little snug
but I thought they were OK.  Two hundred miles later the grease was running
out of my rear wheel bearings because the grease seals were destroyed from
heat.  A quick inspection identified that the pins that slide into the
carrier were slightly bent and were binding in the caliper.  Evidently,
because the caliper was assembled on the carrier during shipment the pins
were bent when the box was dropped.  Since these pins are not readily
available I had to straighten them and then recut a few thousandths off the
top of the pins so they would be perpendicular where they mate with the
caliper.  Ultimately I got them straight enough to use but they are not
perfect and it took most of a day to correct the problem caused by poor
packing by the seller.

The lesson learned here is you can't assume new means good condition.  There
is a lot of junk out there and sometimes things are damaged in transit.  You
have to inspect new stuff carefully, remembering that it has never been
assembled completely and 100% quality control never happens.

Ed



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